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I just moved to North Durham. I work in Roxboro and my wife works in North Durham. I'm interested in buying a place in North Durham with in the Easley Elementary school boundaries to avoid having to lottery in. I don't know how hard or easy it is to lottery in.
It is my wife, my 14 month toddler, and myself as a family. I plan on spend around 140-175k. I'm wondering if I should go ahead and pick a place to get into Easley Elementary or buying again later. I've done some research and it appears that Easley is a good elementary school. I'm not opposed to living in a different part of North Durham if there are other good elementary schools.
I found a post(below for someone else) by doing a search which talks about Magnum and Little River being good schools as well. I do like the Vantage point and Eno Trace areas, but they feed into Eno Valley Elementary. I'm looking for 3 BR/2Bth 1500 sq ft. I'd like to have a garage. I did consider a townhouse, but after reading some posts on them currently always being built they are not good for resell especially if you buy a new one. What are your thoughts?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetpea1107
Based upon your posts, I think you will like the vibe of the 27712 zip code. We've been here for three years and enjoy it. Less traffic and congestion than some of the other areas of Durham and the Triangle. True, this area is further out from shopping than others, which I think dimishes its appeal for some, and yes, I'd love a grocery store a smidge closer, but I can still be to one in 15 minutes and to the Durham Farmers Market in less than 20. It takes me 30 minutes to get to Southpoint, but to be honest, in the time I've been here, I've made exactly 2 trips and 1 purchase there, and I've survived. For my family, the trade off between relatively longer drive to shopping and the quieter neighborhoods work, but to each their own.
For housing, I'd probably concentrate my search on the neighborhoods that feed into Little River, Mangum, or Easley, as PP have commented. Many of my friends and neighbors attend these schools and are very happy with them. My kiddos are at Voyager (charter), and we are happy there as well. I do know a couple of familes who go to Sandy Ridge as well, and seem pretty happy, and at least one who has been thus far satisfied with their experience at Lucas Middle School -- although that is a bit in the future for you LO. I know quite a few families with young kids in neighborhoods on Inifinity/Latta Rd. (Vantage Point, Eno Trace, Latta Woods(?)), those feed into Eno Valley Elementary which is less desirable but many of my friends have been able to transfer to Easley from there (that is not a given though, so you will want to consider that). For pre-schools, I have friends satifsified with Aldergate (which is a mornings-only preschool), Mt. Sylvan, and Sunshine Smiles (which are more of a daycare type facility).
I do most of my shopping at Kroger and Harris Teeter. During the summer, we pick up quite a bit of produce from the Durham Farmers Market as well.
Mangum and Little River are great elementary schools and neither have a lottery. You have good choices in northern Durham so don't limit yourself to Easely. My youngest is in Voyager but my older two went to Carrington Middle School then Riverside High School. We were happy with the high school but not so much Carrington. I've heard good things about the new middle school Lucas though.
ok while on this subject..zip code 27712 & 27503, middle and highschools one would 'recommend'
I don't have any direct experience with these schools, but the feedback I've received from friends with kids in them is that Carrington is a desirable middle school in North Durham. Lucas is brand new and just opened this fall, so I don't think there is much info out there yet, but I do know one family whose daughter goes there, and they are very happy thus far.
For high school, I believe Riverside would be preferred over Northern.
I just moved to North Durham. I work in Roxboro and my wife works in North Durham. I'm interested in buying a place in North Durham with in the Easley Elementary school boundaries <>
How are you searching for a house? I have a hobby of house hunting and I've used several sites. I prefer trulia.com, although zillow.com is also good. You can set search criteria and view the results by map. Once you settle on several, go find a broker to represent you, rather than going to the listing realtors.
"wants 4 bedroom with dock near a ski area"
One thing to note if you're not aware is that Easley is a year-round school. The school year begins in mid-July, students have 3 week breaks in Fall, Winter, and Spring, and then they have 5 weeks for a summer break. It works great for our family but might not be what you're looking for. It seems like it's been easier to get in off the lottery in the last year or 2 with Sandy Ridge (arts magnet) opening up and Voyager starting with Kindergarten now. Though I know a number of kids who didn't get into Easley during the initial lottery (siblings have priority then) but did so in the subsequent months leading up to the start of the year. But if you want to be assured of going, you'd indeed want to find a home in the Easley zone. It's a pretty small zone so home choices may be limited, but the neighborhoods that do serve the school are all pretty nice. I agree with others that Riverside is said to be a better high school choice than Northern, so looking for a home zoned for Easley and then Riverside for high school might influence resale if you eventually will be moving.
Thank you guys for the advice. Crash I'm just looking to zillow/trulia. Then I drive to the area to check it out. I'll have to check little river and magnum schools. I liked the eno trace area, but that feeds into eno elementary. Like someone else had said, the Easley school district is small. I'll check out the Riverside high school as well. If you have more advice, keep it coming.
If you can stretch your budget just a bit you can probably get into a house in Marywood, Buckhorn Creek or Fieldstone on the Eno. This is a very nice, family friendly neighborhood on the north side of Rose of Sharon Rd. It's less than a mile to shopping and borders the hiking trails in Eno River State Park. Homes there are generally in the $180s-320s. Best of all, it puts you IN the Easly district so you won't even have to lottery in. You also have the option of attending Hillandale ES which is the traditional calendar school and also a good one. FWIW, we have one in Easley (2nd grade) and are very pleased so far. DM me if you want more info. I live very nearby to these neighborhoods and love it!
If you can stretch your budget just a bit you can probably get into a house in Marywood, Buckhorn Creek or Fieldstone on the Eno. This is a very nice, family friendly neighborhood on the north side of Rose of Sharon Rd. It's less than a mile to shopping and borders the hiking trails in Eno River State Park. Homes there are generally in the $180s-320s. Best of all, it puts you IN the Easly district so you won't even have to lottery in. You also have the option of attending Hillandale ES which is the traditional calendar school and also a good one. FWIW, we have one in Easley (2nd grade) and are very pleased so far. DM me if you want more info. I live very nearby to these neighborhoods and love it!
I think he means Buckwater Creek!
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For my family, the trade off between relatively longer drive to shopping and the quieter neighborhoods work, but to each their own.
